World War 1 was fought in different parts of Europe, and in other parts of the world such as The Middle East and on the seas. From the records we have searched we have found that soldiers from St. James-the-Less fought, died and are buried in France, Germany and what is now Iraq. Many men [...]
Between early August 1914, when the war started, and 1916 over 150 men from St James-the-Less had joined the armed forces and gone to war, nine were reported dead and numerous men injured. By the time the war ended, on November 11 1918, over four years after it started, 30 men from St James-the-Less were [...]
Despite the many thousands in the UK who thought it was their patriotic duty to enlist and fight the enemy at the start of the war, there were many ordinary people who objected to the war on moral or religious grounds. Conscription When the war effort needed more men to join the armed services, the [...]
Unlike today, when we have smartphones and a host of other electronic devices to make immediate contact with people anywhere in the world, the only method soldiers had of contacting home was by letter. Home sickness was a huge problem so the soldiers were given postcards and writing paper which could be sent home for [...]
There was a lot of patriotism and confidence in the first weeks and months of the war, both in the nation and in Rossendale. People thought the war would soon be over and the idea that ‘our brave soldiers will deliver a bloody nose to the Germans and be home by Christmas’ was commonly spoken [...]
In any war reliable and accurate communication is essential. Battles are often won or lost on the ability to communicate information on enemy positions and movement, as well as instructions. The battlefields of the First World War were so big, widespread and difficult, that all sorts of methods of communication were used. Wireless communication (radio) [...]
